OPI APP APRIL MAY 2023 B

Adam Joy, Office Brands BIG

Big Interview: Future-proofing dealers in Oz

Adam Joy took over as CEO of Australian dealer group Office Brands in June 2021. What he found was a myriad of challenges in a country where parts seemed barely affected by COVID-19 while others faced some of the harshest lockdown restrictions in the world. Several of these difficulties were group-specific, such as the lack of one cohesive brand. Others were wider, industry-related, or even national macroeconomic issues. Step by step and with a highly collaborative approach, Joy set out to future-proof the fortunes of its varied membership against some formidable competition. There’s still plenty to do.

FOCUS: CNG/SPR – A GOOD FIT?

[S.P. Richards] – and its management – was certainly a victim of unfortunate timing as Mike and Yancey’s acquisition coincided with COVID-19. To be in the business products channel and have everyone leave their offices is about as difficult a situation as you could imagine. It led to a lot of pressure on the financial side of the business.

The consequence of it was the challenges presented in making continued investments, which is one thing we can absolutely help with. We will be able to strengthen the balance sheet, put ourselves in a better position with vendors and open up the supply chain.

CONTENTS

18 Big Interview Collaboration and data are the linchpins of success for dealers in Australia, says Office Brands’ CEO Adam Joy

24 Focus

Who’s the new President of S.P. Richards and what’s in store for the wholesaler under CNG ownership? OPI talks to Bill Meany

28 Category Update Opportunities abound for the viscom sector in an evolving working world

32 Advertorial

With the addition of the Nymölla mill, Sylvamo further enhances its journey of sustainable paper production

34 Category Update

There have been huge swings in the paper industry as geopolitical events play out

38 Review: EOPA

The class of 2023 – OPI shines a light on the winners of this year’s European Office Products Awards

44 Preview: OPI

European Forum

OPI’s next senior-level executive conference heads to Amsterdam

46 Review: City of Hope Tour & Hall of Fame Dinner

Boris Elisman’s ACCOmplishing Hope campaign gets underway in California

REGULARS

5 Comment

6 News

14 Green Thinking News

16 OPI Small Talk

48 5 minutes with... Perpétua Malta

50 Final Word

Andrew Senior

The OPI team

EDITORIAL

Editor

Heike Dieckmann

+44 1462 422 143 heike.dieckmann@opi.net

Deputy Editor

Michelle Sturman michelle.sturman@opi.net

News Editor

Andy Braithwaite +33 4 32 62 71 07 andy.braithwaite@opi.net

Freelance Contributor David Holes david.holes@opi.net

SALES & MARKETING

Chief Commercial Officer

Chris Exner +44 7973 186801 chris.exner@opi.net

Head of Media Sales

Chris Turness +44 7872 684746 chris.turness@opi.net

Digital Marketing Manager

Aurora Enghis aurora.enghis@opi.net

EVENTS

Events Manager

Lisa Haywood events@opi.net

Event Programmer

Sophie Carus sophie.carus@opi.net

PRODUCTION & FINANCE

Head of Creative

Joel Mitchell joel.mitchell@opi.net

Finance & Operations

Kelly Hilleard kelly.hilleard@opi.net

PUBLISHERS

CEO

Steve Hilleard +44 7799 891000 steve.hilleard@opi.net

Director

Janet Bell +44 7771 658130 janet.bell@opi.net

Executive Assistant

Debbie Garrand +44 20 3290 1511 debbie.garrand@opi.net

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Challenges? Yes. Opportunities? 100%

Exactly a year ago, in the April/May 2022 issue of OPI , we had a Big Interview with S.P. Richards ’ (SPR) then leading men – Mike Maggio and Yancey Jones Sr. Having been caught right in the middle of the COVID storm when they purchased the wholesaler, it was an interview full of promise and plans, of obstacles to be overcome and of better days ahead. The headline at the time was ‘ A work in progress ’. And this it remains.

OPI CEO Steve Hilleard met up with new President Bill Meany at SPR ’ s recent vendor summit in Texas to ask questions not completely dissimilar to the ones last year. What ’s to come, what will new parent CNG bring to the IDC and when will dealers get all the products they ’ ve been asking for in all the various adjacencies? ‘CNG/SPR: A good fit? ’ is this year ’ s feature headline (page 24) . Early days still and, for now, the answer is a cautiously optimistic ‘‘I think so ’’

There’s no getting away from the fact that 2022 has been a ‘good riddance’ year during which so many challenges – internal or external, micro or macro – have bedraggled parts of our industry. The paper category is an excellent example of this (page 34)

A lot of the answers to difficult questions lie in collaboration in some shape or form, asserts Office Brands’ Adam Joy in our Big Interview (page 18). And in data and its comprehensive and proper use. Both Joy and Andrew Senior in our Final Word (page 50) refer to pricing intelligence technology as an incredibly powerful way of staying competitive and ‘ on the ball’

Several of the most pressing issues we’re all facing – including said price competitiveness – will be discussed at the forthcoming OPI European Forum which will be held in the beautiful city of Amsterdam from 22-24 May (page 44). Don’t miss it!

Talking of Amsterdam and concluding on a high note, I was delighted to see so many of our European readers at the recent OPI Partnership event and the fabulous European Office Products Awards celebration dinner (page 38)

There may be challenges but, to quote industry great and Viking Europe Managing Director Christa Furter: ‘‘The opportunities are even bigger.’’ We all raised a glass – or several – to that!

The carrier sheet is printed on Satimat Silk paper, which is produced on pulpmanufactured wood obtained from recognised responsible forests and at an FSC® certified mill. It is polywrapped in recyclable plastic that will biodegrade within six months.

There may be challenges but [...] ‘the opportunities are even bigger’

Essendant hit by cyberattack

March 2023 may well go down as one of the most challenging months in the history of US wholesaler Essendant.

On the evening of 6 March, the company was hit by a network-wide outage that affected most of its IT applications and day-to-day operations for customers, staff and suppliers. Essentially, it meant it was unable to send or receive orders or run customer support.

Initial communications from Essendant suggested its network would be down for several days. However, the sheer magnitude of

the task to clean up, restore, recover and test more than 100 systems soon became apparent.

It was not until 17 March that some ordering became possible through the Empower portal and customer care support was re-established –albeit via email only.

As of 22 March, EDI customers were also able to transact again, while outbound shipments via third-party carriers were back to normal. Nevertheless, incoming deliveries were still disrupted and the wholesaler was not planning to issue

HNI to acquire Kimball

In a major M&A deal in the workplace furnishings sector, HON brand owner HNI is to acquire fellow supplier Kimball International.

The two vendors have entered into a definitive agreement under which HNI will acquire all the outstanding shares of Kimball International in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $485 million. Including debt, the deal gives Kimball an enterprise value of $531 million.

The total implied share consideration HNI is paying is $12.90, a considerable premium on Kimball’s average price in the run-up to the deal. Following the acquisition – which is expected to close in mid-2023 – HNI shareholders will own about 90% of the combined company, and Kimball shareholders the other 10%.

HNI CEO Jeff Lorenger will head the enlarged entity. Kimball CEO Kristie Juster will remain in her current role until the transaction is finalised.

The combined pro forma annual revenue of the businesses is $3.1 billion, with 66% (about $2 billion) from the workplace furnishings segment. This includes the healthcare vertical, where Kimball’s strong market presence will be complementary.

new purchase orders until the week commencing 27 March. Neither the supplier portal nor the digital content platform Salsify were functional, and the customer care phone network was still down.

While Essendant did refer to a “security incident” in a customer communication dated 7 March, it did not publicly admit it had been the victim of a cyberattack until ten days later. This was shortly after specialist publication Bleeping Computer reported that ransomware operator LockBit had claimed responsibility for hacking into the wholesaler’s network.

An image posted by Bleeping Computer appeared to suggest LockBit would release confidential data after 18 March, but – as far as OPI is aware – this has not been the case. Following the outage, Essendant stated: “At this time, we do not believe that sensitive information has been compromised.” However, it did not confirm this in subsequent updates on its website.

As this issue of OPI went to press, Essendant’s recovery efforts were still ongoing. We hope to bring you a detailed analysis in the June edition. In the meantime, please check opi. net for news of further developments.

Outlining the rationale for the deal, HNI pointed to Kimball’s strengths in secondary and tertiary geographies in the US and its expertise in ancillary furnishings. Both these factors, it said, would position it well for new working trends.

The transaction solidifies HNI’s place as the fourth-largest global office furniture manufacturer, after Steelcase, MillerKnoll and Haworth.

Lyreco signs Olympics partnership

Lyreco has become an Official Supporter of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Under the terms of the agreement, the reseller will supply the organising teams and international delegations with furniture, PPE and workplace equipment and supplies.

These products will be used in offices, accommodation and competition venues across more than 60 sites – mainly in the Paris region, but also in cities such as Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, Nantes and St Etienne.

In all, more than 360,000 items totalling 760 tonnes are set to be shipped by Lyreco. Following the end of the Games in September 2024, the company has committed to collecting all the items in line with the organising committee’s circular economy commitment. It is estimated that 84% of products will either be reused or donated to charities, 14% recycled and 2% used to make new goods.

In other Lyreco news, the reseller announced that it has doubled the number of packaging and shipping SKUs it is stocking. It didn’t say how many of these kinds of products it is now selling, but has launched a specialised catalogue that includes hundreds of items in 14 sub-categories.

It said this would allow it to better service the needs of its clients, particularly in the distribution, manufacturing, automobile and pharmaceutical industries.

This latest catalogue follows similar Lyreco publications in the hygiene, safety and furniture categories as it looks to extend its one-stop-shop capabilities.

Finally, Lyreco responded to questions regarding its proposed acquisition of Denmark-based Lomax which

Kaut-Bullinger launches concessions concept

In what is a first for the German office products market, dealer Kaut-Bullinger has launched its own concessions store within the premises of one of the country’s largest fashion retailers.

The reseller has teamed up with Adler, opening the first Kaut-Bullinger branded space in the company’s flagship store in the northern Bavarian town of Haibach on 16 February.

The 33 sq m (330 sq ft) area includes a range of stationery products, fine writing instruments, gift bags, wrapping paper, and greeting cards, as well as fashion accessories and a selection of travel items such as luggage – a new category that Kaut-Bullinger has recently diversified into.

If the pilot is successful, plans are already underway to open

was announced in August 2022. It was expected that the transaction would close in the first quarter of this year, but the Danish competition authority (DCCA) is taking longer to complete its investigation.

In March, the DCCA released a statement revealing it was still in the process of assessing the planned acquisition and had submitted questionnaires to joint customers of the two companies.

Speaking to OPI, Lyreco CEO Greg Liénard said the process was “moving on nicely” and that his company had formally filed [acquisition documents] following the completion of the DCCA’s initial phase of the investigation. He added he was expecting an answer in Q2.

ALOT looks at franchise model

ALOT – the former Staples Argentina business – is looking to expand its store network through franchising.

further concessions in more retail locations across Germany in the coming quarters. This could rise to a double-digit number in the current financial year.

The initiative marks the return of the Kaut-Bullinger brand to the retail channel 12 months after it closed its own flagship shop in the centre of Munich. CEO Robert Brech said it was part of the firm’s plans to restore the top line, which had shrunk by around €17 million ($18.2 million) due to the closure of its store network. Another area of transformation is digital, including a marketplace and a new platform for contract clients.

The company – which dropped the Staples names in 2021, three years after being acquired by HC Corporation – currently has 14 retail locations across the Buenos Aires region, in addition to its main B2B operations. Speaking recently to the local press, ALOT CEO Germán Di Carlo outlined plans to open up the brand to franchise partners.

The reseller will be offering three formats, ranging from 80-350 sq m (800-3,500 sq ft). These will include: local convenience outlets in high-traffic areas such as town centres or near educational establishments; locations in shopping malls; and a ‘service store’ model that features more floorspace and a copy and print centre.

From left: Lyreco CEO Grégory Liénard, Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet and Managing Director Lyreco France Eric Avril

Diversey to be acquired

Apogee expands into France

HP Inc-owned Apogee has signalled its European ambitions with two transactions in France. The UK-based document and IT services firm – acquired by HP in 2018 – has made an unspecified investment in French reseller MCA to form an entity known as MCA-Apogee. Located in the Paris region, the new company will be headed by former MCA CEO Salem el Hammami.

At the same time, MCA-Apogee has bought the print management business of another France-based services provider, AM Trust, creating what Apogee described as “a French leader in managed workplace services”.

Private equity firms Platinum Equity and Bain Capital have engineered a mega-merger in the chemicals and cleaning solutions sector.

Bain, the majority shareholder of Diversey, and Platinum, which owns chemicals company Solenis, have agreed to merge the two businesses. The $4.6 billion deal will effectively see Diversey acquired by Solenis in what is described as a “go private” transaction.

Under the terms of the agreement, Diversey shareholders (other than those affiliated with Bain) will receive $8.40 per share in cash, which represents a premium of approximately 41% over Diversey’s closing share price on 7 March. Bain Capital – which owns about 73% of Diversey – will sell 44% of its stake to Solenis for $7.84 a share in cash. The remaining 56% equity will be exchanged for Solenis shares.

“Apogee will use its experience, and the expertise of AM Trust Group, in financing solutions, data management and digital dematerialisation to complement MCA-Apogee’s portfolio of services, benefiting new and existing customers,” the UK firm stated in a press release.

Apogee CEO Aurelio Maruggi said the investments represented a “significant step” towards establishing a pan-European presence.

Amazon Business awarded new YPO contract

Major UK public sector purchasing organisation YPO has awarded a new digital marketplace contract to Amazon Business.

YPO had previously awarded a four-year framework contract to Amazon Business in 2019.

Following what was described as a “robust” tender process that began in October of last year, it has now

named Amazon Business as the sole provider of a new digital marketplace.

The latest framework began on 24 January 2023 and will run for up to four years. The total maximum value has been set at £500 million ($600 million).

In its press release, the purchasing organisation highlighted Amazon’s use of small business resellers.

“Amazon is partnered with up to

85,000 SMEs in the UK, with small businesses accounting for more than half of everything Amazon sells in its online stores,” it stated. “These small businesses selling on Amazon have created over 250,000 jobs nationally.”

Award criteria were based on the performance and security of a bidder’s digital marketplace, policies, procedures, sustainability, continuous improvement, innovation and cost. These, said YPO, were designed in line with its customers’ key national and regional priorities.

“During tender, Amazon Business best demonstrated and provided evidence for SME engagement, initiatives to achieve environmental targets and investment in positive environmental practices within the wider supply chain,” YPO noted.

“The bid also demonstrated competitive pricing, ensuring that delivery costs are minimised for public sector customers.”

Business Solutions clients to move to Varis

expense of some margin loss due to the transaction fee it will have to pay to Varis – just like any other vendor using the platform.

The ODP Corporation (ODP) has said some of its Business Solutions division customers will be switched over to the new Varis procurement platform. Discussing this on the company’s FY2022 earnings conference call, ODP CFO Anthony Scaglione didn’t specify the number of businesses this would involve or the sales volumes they represented.

However, he said they would be “direct assist customers” that are generally using the Business Solutions platform independently and who typically require a lower level of interaction from the unit’s sales force. Transferring these clients to Varis

ON THE MOVE

Molly Whatley

would bring a number of benefits to ODP, Scaglione stated. These include:

• Enabling clients to enjoy a wider assortment from third-party suppliers, creating additional revenue opportunities for Varis.

• Improving satisfaction levels through a “better and more modern e-commerce experience”.

• Delivering higher overall contract compliance.

Business Solutions will continue to generate revenue from the sales of products to these customers. However, this will come at the

DE&I Manager at Essendant

Essendant has created the new role of DE&I and Culture Engagement Manager and promoted an internal candidate to the position. Molly Whatley was previously Senior Business Support Specialist.

Dewitz moves to Sigel

Ingo Dewitz has been named Director of Sales at German vendor Sigel. He had prior stints at Lyreco Germany and Staples Solutions and was Managing Director at Büroring between 2010 and 2018.

New President at Zoro

Sandy Mattinson has been made President of Grainger’s online reseller unit Zoro, effective 1 April. She joined Zoro in 2019 as its first female VP and most recently worked as its Chief Revenue Officer.

Jardine joins Mitsubishi

Pencil UK

Mitsubishi Pencil EU has announced the appointment of Neil Jardine as Managing Director of its UK office. He joins Mitsubishi Pencil UK after 25 years in the food and beverages market.

“We believe the benefits related to higher contract compliance, more efficient customer reach, lower sales commissions in certain cases, and the additional opportunity to capture overall gross transaction volume sales more than outweigh the incremental fees [Business Solutions] will incur for using the platform,” commented the CFO.

ODP hosted a demonstration and analyst presentation of Varis at the Nasdaq in early March. There, it gave the example of a 2,000-store retailer that is a customer of Business Solutions. Its customised catalogue was digitised and is now hosted on the Varis platform.

The result, said ODP, was a 90% adoption rate in the space of a few weeks, much less off-contract spend via purchase cards and a 20% uptick in revenue from this customer for Business Solutions.

PBS Network recruits MD

PBS Network has a new Managing Director following the departure of Jerg Luetkens at the end of 2022. Christoph Eberz is an experienced software entrepreneur, having founded ERP firm Faveo in 1995.

Unite names country manager

Laurent Luque Morales has been appointed as Country Manager for France at B2B procurement platform Unite. He succeeds Constance Martiny Sondag who was recently promoted to the new role of VP Sales Northern and Southern Europe.

RAJA makes senior appointment

European reseller RAJA has confirmed Catherine Cambier as Managing Director of its Packaging and Industrial Equipment division. She succeeds Vincent Terradot, who retired after 33 years of RAJA service.

Ingo Dewitz

Sandy Mattinson

Neil Jardine

Christoph Eberz

Laurent Luque Morales

Catherine Cambier

Fellowes contract furniture moves

Marketing recognition for Printus’ Gerardi-Schmid

Vicky Gerardi-Schmid, VP International at leading German online reseller Printus, has been inducted into the Hall of Fame of the country’s Direct Marketing Association (DDV).

Gerardi-Schmid was presented with the honour at the recent general assembly and 75th anniversary of the DDV in Frankfurt. She has close ties with the association as Patron of the Alfred Gerardi Memorial Prize, which each year rewards three outstanding students in the direct marketing field.

Gerardi-Schmid was also included in OPI’s inaugural list of the 50 most influential women in the business products world (see Special Feature, OPI March 2023, page 30)

Fellowes Brands has said it will transition its two contract furnishing businesses to the group’s brand name this year. The firm formed a Contract Interiors unit in June 2020, shortly after COVID-19 first hit. This unified the Trendway and ESI brands (acquired in 2019 and 2017 respectively) under a single functional team.

Now, the vendor has announced that both of these names will transition to the Fellowes brand in the first half of 2023.

Over the course of the year, Fellowes also said it will expand its name beyond workspace products to a broader range of ‘WorkLife’ solutions – including modular walls, select furniture, business machines, commercial air purification systems and commercial-grade workspace products and capabilities.

Vicky Gerardi-Schmid (m) with DDV Presidents Patrick Tapp (l) and Martin Nitsche (r)

€12.4 billion

Estimated value of the German stationery, paper and office supplies market in 2030, a decline of more than 15% compared with 2019 Source: Marketmedia24

WeWork makes history WH Smith launches new brand

Retailer WH Smith is launching a number of high-end stationery and gift shops in the UK under a new banner called Curi.o.city. Filling a void left by the collapse of Paperchase, the stores will initially be located at major airports and railway stations.

5 billion

Number of entries in password breach database kept by IT compliance company Authlogics

Name change for NPD

Point-of-sale insights firm The NPD Group has rebranded to Circana. The change comes following its merger with IRI in August 2022.

27,000 Staff layoffs announced by Amazon since the start of 2023

Co-working giant WeWork achieved the first adjusted EBITDA positive month in the company’s history in December 2022 as it makes progress with its turnaround strategy. As a caveat, FY2022 adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $477 million.

Cricket legend named Luxor brand ambassador

Stationery manufacturer Luxor Writing Instruments has appointed Indian cricket star Virat Kohli as its new brand ambassador. The move is aimed at strengthening Luxor’s appeal among young people in India and cementing its reputation as a high-quality brand.

Kohli will also promote products emanating from a new partnership between Luxor and Germany’s Schneider Pen as the vendor looks to develop its presence in the Indian market.

Andi Owen, CEO, MillerKnoll

To be sure, this is a disruptive period. Traditional office usage and layouts are not as relevant as they once were and new opportunities exist to help customers design more hybrid, collaborative work environments

Virat Kohli with Pooja Jain Gupta, Managing Director of Luxor Writing Instruments

PICTURE OF THE MONTH

Sustainability playing increasing role in print sector

A maturing approach to corporate ESG is driving the creation of more concrete goals and higher expectations of print suppliers, according to Quocirca’s Future of Work Spotlight on Sustainability 2025 report.

The study, based on the opinions of 1,021 office workers and 521 IT decision-makers, found that sustainability is increasingly viewed as both a vital business objective as well as a key supplier selection criterion.

The report reveals the employee demographics where ESG considerations have the highest profile, and the impact environmental concerns are having on digitisation programmes. The study also offers insight into the future role of print/paper in the office and how this is being influenced by sustainability objectives.

For example, three quarters of respondents said they expect to reduce paper consumption by 2025; however, 30% still commented that paper will be important to their business. This points to a future where workplaces will be paper-lite, not paperless.

Key findings from the report include:

• 71% said environmental issues and sustainability will be important/extremely important to their business by 2025.

• Digital transformation programmes are accelerating in 61% of organisations (74% in the US), with the biggest motivation being to reduce environmental impact.

• Two-thirds (66%) said it is extremely or very important for a print supplier to be a leader in sustainability.

• 45% of those in director, VP or head of department positions asserted that environmental issues will be extremely important to the business by 2025.

• Sustainability leaders are more likely to accelerate digitisation, adopt fully cloud-based print management, and anticipate the use of video/AR/VR.

COS helps customers with plastic waste

Leading Australian independent dealer COS has developed a Plastic Pollution Toolkit to support customers in reducing and even eliminating the use of plastics in their businesses. According to the reseller, over 3.4 million tonnes of plastic are discarded into landfill each year in Australia – and approximately 30% of the waste comes from single-use items.

However, regional authorities are beginning to take action. New South Wales banned several single-use plastic items in early October 2022, following in the footsteps of Western Australia and South Australia. The Victorian government, meanwhile, banned a variety of single-use plastic and polystyrene items in February.

To help its clients get to grips with tackling the issue, COS has created a 13-page toolkit document that comes with the tagline ‘Refuse, Reduce & Recycle’. Contents include advice on changing office culture, green audits, sourcing responsibly and recycling.

Essity announces CO2-free production breakthrough

Health and hygiene vendor Essity says it has become the first company in the sector to make tissue from a CO2-free process using renewable hydrogen. The supplier started a pilot for production at its facility in Mainz-Kostheim, Germany, in the second half of 2021. Traditionally, the paper drying process has relied on natural gas to achieve the required high temperatures of 600°C, while renewable energy has not been a viable alternative. “By using hydrogen in the drying process, Essity has demonstrated that energy-intensive production processes can also become CO2 emission-free,” Essity stated. “[We aim] to continue to apply breakthrough technologies to significantly reduce [our] environmental footprint.”

The Mainz-Kostheim location (pictured below) transforms recycled paper into tissue marketed under the Tork brand. A total of 152,000 tonnes of tissue are produced at the production facility each year.

HP presents first Amplify Impact awards

modular sustainability plan platform”, exceeding initial targets.

Winners were honoured across six main categories. They were:

• Global Leader Award

– Introstat, South Africa

(UK), Loffler Companies (USA), MUP Bürohandel (Germany), Euromedia (Slovakia) and Complete (UK, now part of EVO).

HP Inc has recognised over 40 partners worldwide for their sustainability efforts through its inaugural Amplify Impact awards. The Amplify Impact programme was introduced in 2021 and includes partner assessments, training and other resources which leverage HP’s own sustainability initiatives.

To date, HP noted that 100% of pledged partners have developed sustainable impact strategies using “the world’s first automated,

• Business Excellence Award

– Bechtle Logistik & Service, pan-Europe

• Sustainability Business Award

– Advania, Sweden

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Strategy Award – Truis, Australia

• Climate Action Award

– CNW IT-Systeme, Germany

• HP LIFE Award – Introstat

Other companies recognised include: Banner Group (UK), Softcat

Koozie and IMAGEN reveal carbon neutral goals

In other news from HP Inc, the vendor is using recycled coffee grounds on the finish of its latest all-in-one computers. The devices incorporate the coffee residue to give them a speckled finish.

The computers have other environmentally friendly features. The enclosure is made from over 40% post-consumer recycled plastics, the arm stand uses 75% recycled aluminium, and the base contains 100% reclaimed polyester. The packaging has also been reduced in size by 62%, which allows HP to ship up to 66% more units per pallet.

New partnership for Epson and WWF

US promotional products supplier Koozie Group and sister company IMAGEN Brands intend to become carbon neutral on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by the end of 2024.

Last year, Koozie and IMAGEN began measuring these emissions monthly. Using legacy data, they employed an outside firm to trace carbon dioxide output on these two scopes back to 2017. Now they are adopting a two-pronged approach to reach their carbon neutrality goals.

Firstly, work will continue on internal projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including undergoing annual EcoVadis audits to measure the success of ongoing company efforts against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Secondly, the companies will invest in carbon sink projects. For example, given Koozie’s large calendar division, afforestation programmes designed to help create new forests on degraded lands would be a likely choice.

The organisations will purchase offsets via a third-party partner through projects independently validated and verified to recognised global standards, including the Verified Carbon Standard and the Climate Action Reserve. These ensure each credit issued represents one tonne of carbon dioxide that has already been removed from the atmosphere and that credits have not been used more than once.

Epson has launched a three-year international partnership with NGO WWF focusing on forest restoration and conservation. The agreement has been hailed as a first of its kind for a Japanese corporation in the electronics and precision instruments sector. It builds on the existing relationship between the two organisations that started in March 2022 with a marine conservation project in Southeast Asia. Based on a shared ambition to tackle common environmental concerns, the partnership will encompass three objectives:

1. Addressing the manufacturer’s environmental footprint

2. Supporting WWF’s forest restoration and conservation projects in seven countries across four regions

3. Communicating about current environmental issues

In line with the above, Epson is committing around $1.5 million over the next three years which will go towards WWF forestry projects.

Onwards & UPWARDS

A tricky 2022 and the potential for more M&A were among the key topics in two recent OPI Talk podcasts. ACCO Brands’ Boris Elisman and Acme United’s Walter Johnsen gave their free and frank views

Boris Elisman: 2022 started well. There was a lot of optimism about an economic recovery, a strong back-to-school in North America and people returning to work globally. We saw that in our numbers and had a very strong first half.

Then, a couple of things drove a change in sentiment. One was the war in Ukraine. By late Q2, the world realised this was going to have a longer-term impact on us all and we saw that with high energy and food inflation, especially in Europe.

In the US, the Federal Reserve realised inflation was not temporary and became hawkish, talking up interest rates. This convinced the CEOs of the world we were heading into a recession, which led to them becoming much more cautious as regards investments – whether that be inventory, capital or people.

The biggest issue for us overall was certainly inflation globally, but it was especially high in

Walter Johnsen: I was so glad to see the back of 2022 – every day, there seemed to be more crises and challenges. We had one vessel coming into Baltimore, Maryland, that got stuck in the mud for six weeks. How do you plan for this? Our customers needed product and it was there, sitting in the mud!

We tried to keep our price increases reasonable in light of the problems which were happening. It’s evident, however, with our loss in the fourth quarter, that we didn’t keep up with the costs that we incurred. But I believe we gave

Europe, driven by energy prices. Even though we had several price increases, we were not able to keep up with higher input costs.

This is the big challenge for ACCO Brands this year. On 1 January 2023, we implemented a price increase almost globally and we believe this will largely restore margins to where they need to be. As things currently stand, we don’t anticipate needing to raise prices again in the US and Europe in 2023.

In terms of M&A, we will continue to look because you never know what opportunities come up, and the timing of these things. However, I certainly don’t believe there will be any near-term deals, given our priority of paying down debt.

our customers timely deliveries at a fair price. Ultimately, that’s an investment in the future.

For the past six months, we have been integrating the acquisitions of 2022 into our organisation. There has been a lot going on behind the scenes you don’t see, but which is very important. This eventually squeezes out cost and, hopefully, gives Acme United a growth propellant.

Depending on what the economy is like and where we are as a company, I think in the back half of the year, we will be in a position to [make another acquisition].

Walter Johnsen

Boris Elisman

We don’t anticipate needing to raise prices again [...] in 2023

Future -proofing DOWN UNDER

Collaboration and data are the linchpins of success for dealers in Oz, says Office Brands’ Adam Joy

Adam Joy took over as CEO of Australian dealer group Office Brands in June 2021 – right in the middle of the pandemic and after a period of limbo following the departure of Gavin Ward six months prior.

What he found was a myriad of challenges in a vast country where parts seemed barely affected by COVID-19 while others – the state of Victoria, for example – faced some of the harshest lockdown restrictions in the world. Several of these challenges were group-specific – the lack of one cohesive brand, for instance. Others were wider industry or even national macroeconomic issues.

Step by step and with a highly collaborative outlook, Joy set out to future-proof the fortunes of its membership against formidable competition. Data, he told OPI’s Heike Dieckmann in a recent conversation, and its effective use, is key to making Australian dealers more knowledgeable and successful.

OPI: Adam, you’re coming up for your two-year anniversary at Office Brands soon. What’s your background and what brought you to an Australian business supplies dealer group?

Adam Joy: Before I joined, I was COO at the University of Wollongong for three years, taking care of its commercial, non-academic stuff. But that was actually a bit of a career change for me.

Prior to this, I had spent almost ten years at the Australian Lottery and Newsagents’ Association as its CEO. Further back, my background lies in retail, quick service restaurants, petrol and convenience and business process outsourcing.

dealers

Ultimately, I guess, I’ve always been drawn to small enterprises and trying to help independents compete in a cutthroat corporate world – that’s where my passion lies and what attracted me to Office Brands.

OPI: We talked to your predecessor Gavin Ward before, last in 2016 I think, so are somewhat familiar with the complex history of Office Brands. What are the facts and figures around the group now?

AJ: We have around 160 members with a total of approximately 1,500 employees. Combined dealer revenues stand at about A$400 million ($264 million) a year.

We’ve seen some good growth over the past year although, admittedly, part of it has been the result of price increases. That said, unit-for-unit sales in several categories are well up, while others are down. Overall, we’re about 2-3% up on the previous year.

In terms of profits, we posted record levels in 2022. The prior year was good too, but you could argue results were a bit distorted due to some COVID-related government subsidies. We delivered good dividends to our shareholders and rebates to members. A

lot of our shareholders are in fact also active members, so they’re getting a double win with dividends and distribution returns. Financially overall, we’re in a very solid position.

OPI: I believe there’ve been some staff changes and redundancies.

AJ: That’s true, but we now have exactly the right team in place from a people and culture point of view. We have 20 staff in total at Office Brands. We changed some things around and, yes, there were redundancies in the early part of COVID before I joined.

We’re now back to the full complement and, in fact, added several new roles in the area of technology, development of data, etc. We’ve been really selective in our recruitment

process. Our team now has over 100 years of SME ownership, 175 years in small business experience, 140 years in the office products industry and over 150 years in licensing and franchising. All these numbers mean that we know what our members are going through.

The team our independent dealers work with on a daily basis have owned their own businesses in the past. They may not necessarily have experience in office products, but we’ve deliberately recruited people who understand what it’s like to not have a regular salary, they appreciate the pressures of labour and cost increases, dealing with banks and landlords, etc.

We try to drive a member-centric culture of support. It involves moving away from the franchise compliance sort of structure and into licensing support business development with a collaborative approach.

Essentially, if we want our members to be successful, we’ve got to have the right team around them to give them that success. And even with the inclusion of these additional headcounts, we’re still delivering the profits I’ve just mentioned, so we’re quite happy with where we stand at the moment.

If we want our members to be successful, we’ve got to have the right team around them to give them that success

OPI: From an operational point of view, what did you find when you arrived in 2021 and what did you feel needed to be done?

AJ: One of my earliest observations was that there wasn’t a lot of collaboration across the industry which led to a substantial duplication of cost. With this in mind, a year ago – last March – we brought together the top eight CEOs from organisations in our sector to discuss some of the big topics.

They comprised ACCO Brands, Avery, Dynamic Supplies, GNS Wholesale Stationers, Hamelin, General Stationery Supplies, OPAL and Furnx International.

It was a really good event and one of the discussion points was indeed how to reduce waste and duplication in the channel. How do we focus on dealer upskilling and increasing that market entrance competence so they have a better chance of success and higher EBIT multipliers? Data collection analysis and sharing certainly help.

There are other challenges. Australian labour laws have created some issues for the groups here. Immigration was effectively stopped through COVID which, in turn, impacted our ability to hire staff – the wage bill went up and the availability of staff down.

One of the biggest topics is addressing supply chain and logistical challenges together. We calculated that, in our space, we probably have about A$10 million in duplicated supply chain costs which could be substantially reduced if we cooperated. We’re due to meet again in May and we will keep pushing ahead on what we can do.

OPI: We’ve often talked about the logistical challenges in a country as vast and regionally sparsely populated as Australia, and the fact there’s still a relatively limited wholesaler landscape. What is your members’ viewpoint on this?

AJ: It’s a mindset issue. Historically, there’s been the perception of “I don’t want to pay an extra fee to a wholesaler”. With the rising costs of distribution and supply chain challenges, that view is being questioned, particularly by smaller members. Operators like GNS and General Stationery Supplies do a good job with next-day delivery and definitely have a role to play.

OPI: I remember Darren Hayes from Quick Corporate Australia – before it was bought by COS – saying that small independents, and their groups, should work together in terms of logistics to minimise costs but also to stand up against the likes of Officeworks. AJ: Definitely. It’s a work in progress.

OPI: You mention GNS. I thought this operator was more closely aligned with Office Choice than you.

AJ: We’re growing year on year with GNS, particularly with private label. We’re trying to rationalise our suppliers in this space. Currently, we have about 20 for 350 products. We want to bring this down to about six.

The other issue is that 90% of our sales come from about 40% of those 350 lines, so there’s some work to do here. We actually only want to be in private label if we need to have a price fighter, not just for the sake of it.

The perception of close alignment between Office Choice and GNS is a little mythical I think and it certainly does not impact our or our members’ dealings with the wholesaler.

OPI: Going back to the CEO meeting you referred to – OPAL won’t be coming back in May since it’s now out of the paper business, will it?

AJ: Sadly, you’re right – that’s a whole different story which is creating serious headaches for resellers in our industry (for more on the paper situation in Australia, see opi.net. See also

There’s no way Office Choice and Office Brands will be operating separately in three years’ time

our Category Update on page 34 with further comments from Adam Joy)

OPI: You didn’t mention Office Choice as part of this collaborative effort. Would it not make sense to include the group, despite the obvious competitive angle?

AJ: Absolutely it would. We have some detailed anti-competition laws in Australia we need to overcome first. In the past – before my time – there was Office Products Australia New Zealand (OPANZ) which had an overarching collaboration theme.

We did some good stuff with Brad O’Brien and his team – and Paul Yardley at GNS for that matter – as regards government activities in relation to paper supply in this country earlier in the year. There is definitely more we can do together and the relationship is good.

OPI: With Office Choice – and GNS – in mind, you’ll be part of the OPIX event in September, won’t you? Is this becoming the Australian version of Independent Suppliers Group’s Industry Week?

AJ: Similar perhaps, though not quite the same. The trade show will be combined, but other parts, such as the gala dinners, workshops, etc, will still be separate. It’s a massive saving though, as everyone will be in one location at the same time.

It’s a good walk before we run exercise, establishing how we can continue to collaborate with the Office Choice team.

OPI: Will all these baby steps culminate in the two groups joining together?

AJ: 100%. There’s no way Office Choice and Office Brands will be operating separately in three years’ time. Whether it’s a merger of equals, an acquisition or whatever, it absolutely needs to happen.

As you say, the things that are going on right now – the government lobbying, the

joining together for expos – will lead to us coming together in some shape or form. Brad and I have spoken about it and we both recognise the benefit of a combined independent dealer group.

OPI: I didn’t know it was quite so actively being discussed.

AJ: It has to. If we continue to go in separate directions, it will be a case of ‘the last one can turn off the lights’. This is not to say everything is in dire straits – not at all. I told you about our profits, rebates, dividends and so on, and have no reason to believe Office Choice is in a worse position.

It makes sense for independents in a country of our size and a population of just 28 million to operate under one banner. We have 160 members, Office Choice 130+ I think. So between us, we’re representing, I would say, about 75% of all business supplies dealers in the entire country.

As one entity, we’d be able to compete much better with the likes of Winc, COS and Officeworks. We would also be able to utilise our wholesalers better. There’s so much to gain from joining forces.

OPI: A united brand would help too I guess. Even just within Office Brands, you still have all these legacy brands that were the result of the various components coming together over the years as one group.

AJ: Well, actually, this is about to change. As of 1 July, and transition period aside, there will be no more Office National, Office Products Depot and O-Net – we’ll just have one brand across the board. We’re doing a lot of research right now, trying to understand what our dealers’ customers value in our proposition and then come up with a new suitable name which reflects that feedback.

You only have to look at the words in our existing brands. Take Office National. ‘National’ is no longer popular in Australia – people want ‘small’ or ‘local’. And ‘office’ is very limiting given what we actually do and sell as a group.

It’s also a question of exposure. As you know, we are a licensee of the New Zealand-based Office Products Depot brand in Australia. But there are only about 13 locations left in the country – it’s hard to market a brand across a nation with 13 locations.

OPI: We’ve seen plenty of consolidation at the top end of the market, so much so that I can’t see much leeway for more. Apart from too many brands, are there also too many dealers in the picture? Is there a need for further M&A?

AJ: There is. The market is oversaturated with dealers, and there’s going to be consolidation. It’s already happening. Five of our dealer members merged recently, for example. They created one new company and now use just one warehouse.

These operators had been working together for a number of years which always helps as you at least know who you’re getting into bed with, so to speak. They dealt with the transition really well, with good communication to their customers, etc. And all five companies are still in business and doing fine, so it’s not as if it was a bunch of struggling entities coming together. They just recognised they were going to be better combined. We’re going to see much more of this happening I’m convinced.

OPI: Who do your dealers sell to and what do they typically sell?

AJ: I’ll start with the end user. In terms of the dealer’s customer, our general target is a business with between 15 and 100 employees – SME and mid-market territory.

But this is almost where the generalisation stops and that is because our typical dealer is no longer typical which I consider to be a good thing. We had a member in January which sold a A$10,000 line marking machine simply because the customer knew the dealer could source and deliver it. My point is, we’re getting really diverse in what we do.

The term office products supplier is becoming redundant because it’s so limiting – I alluded to that earlier when we talked about branding. It’s all about workplace essentials.

OPI: Is there a standout category?

AJ: Furniture is a big one for some of our dealers now. Even taking away price increases, we’re still 19% up in revenues – and we’re changing the way we look at this category. It’s not just items of furniture, but complete project fit-outs, all the way from initial drawings, offering the client options in terms of creating collaborative spaces, maximising environments, and so on.

Then there’s the whole gamut of functional work-from-home furniture – a desk which converts into a bedside table or one that has wheels so can be moved out of the way.

We see a lot more focus on technology in the context of furniture and we’ve been particularly successful with this in the back-to-school (BTS) environment. We’ve increased our average sale for BTS from A$21,000 to A$27,000 per order in the past three years, and that’s driven by the booklist technology we support our members with. Technology overall is a very good category which will continue to grow.

The solutions component is also part of our mantra of not chasing business which doesn’t make money. It’s a hard nut to crack, the reality that it’s not just about top-line revenue. Big-ticket items like furniture help here.

OPI: On this note, pricing has long been an issue in our industry. It’s definitely come up in every single interview we’ve done with an Australian operator over the past ten years. What’s the answer?

AJ: In one word – data. We’ve got some really good data scraping tools we’ve been sharing

From left: Office Brands’ CFO Rob Surya, CMO Craig Matthews and CEO Adam Joy

with our members. In any given month, we can give them a list of 40 items they can take to their customers – existing or new – and show them that they are actually cheaper than, say, Officeworks, on some of these.

Pricing in our sector has to change. The notion of giving a national price for instance is ludicrous because there are so many variables. We need to price by location –circumstance even – and show our members how to use margin calculators, compete better and be more profitable.

It’s a real challenge as our members have always had the pricing done for them, by us. And there needs to be a step change in chasing margin where you can rather than being worried about upsetting the customer.

see what would stick. Now we’ve categorised all of the data for our members using the Australian Bureau of Statistics to make sure we target exactly the right companies with our marketing campaigns.

OPI: Other than what you’ve already said, what further challenges are there?

AJ: Attracting talent is a huge issue, as is succession. There’s not enough money in our industry to make it desirable for young people – they have very different salary expectations, even straight out of university, to what a dealership can offer.

As regards succession, we’re constantly working on this with our members. Do dealers want to sell the business at some point? If so, how should they maximise EBIT to get the best multiplier at the right time?

We are asking our dealers: what’s around you, who is your competitor and how close is that competitor? A dealer might not have an Officeworks next door. So why are you trying to price-match on manilla folders? Give yourself some extra margin – your customer is not going to drive to the next superstore for A$5.

It’s about finding products where you can get that basket margin. And you find them by looking at the data. When dealers go to their customers, with the data, and combine this with personal touch and agility, they can win.

OPI: This agility – and personal touch for that matter – has always been the USP of the independent dealer, hasn’t it?

AJ: Absolutely. We have phenomenal competition in Australia with big operators that have amazing centralised warehousing like COS or Winc. Or, of course, Officeworks with its very clever marketing of “we’re always cheaper – or we’ll give you 5% off”. And everyone is trying to branch into new product adjacencies and new customer segments – the mid-market being the holy grail of acceptable margins and decent volumes.

Agility and being adaptive are what make dealers stand out and it’s our job as a group to give them the clever tools to do that. We’re in the process of rolling out a brand new CRM and EDMS system through HubSpot, which includes some great marketing automation and personalisation tools.

Up until now, we’ve had a bit of a shotgun approach where we just sprayed all the information we had into the atmosphere and

Another obstacle is simply changing old habits to cope with a more demanding market situation. There is often a perception among small independent dealers that they have to be experts at everything. They don’t. We can help them get into national accounts, work more collaboratively or use social media.

Rolling out HubSpot has been a real eye-opener for many. There are templates for things and you don’t have to be a designer to change your website. Don’t sell HP printers if you don’t want to, sell Brother ones. In other words, be in charge of your own destiny in a more comprehensive fashion.

OPI: Let’s finish on a high – where are the biggest opportunities?

AJ: Again, it’s all about digital transformation and the use of data. But we need to help our members understand data and how to dissect and apply it. Don’t be too fancy and send out 35 different reports. If you don’t show someone how to use their ‘abandoned cart’ report, it just sits there and builds up. We have to teach them how to use the information at their disposal properly. That’s a huge opportunity.

In the same data context, expand it to product imagery and data enrichment AI, ChatGPTand customer involvement – 3D rendering, augmented reality and so on. What do customers want or need to see; how can they interactively choose, say, an office chair with ergonomic neck support?

Much of this may sound like pie in the sky and we don’t have the answers yet. But there’s so much potential. We have our operational teams dealing with today’s issues, while our strategic people are thinking about the future, what we’ll be looking at in three years’ time and coming up with a plan to be ready. Ahead of the curve even.

We need to help our members understand data and how to dissect and apply it

For more from the interview, including topics such as sustainability and hybrid working and its impact, see our Xtra content in the April/May issue on opi.net

Central National Gottesman (CNG) raised a few eyebrows when it acquired S.P. Richards (SPR) in January this year. There had been rumours in the marketplace that the US wholesaler might be for sale, and it was with a certain sense of relief in some quarters when it was snapped up by an independent distribution group.

Family-owned and run CNG is traditionally media shy, so when OPI’s Steve Hilleard had the opportunity to attend SPR’s supplier event in San Antonio, Texas, he jumped at the opportunity. There, he spoke with Bill Meany, long-standing President of CNG’s Lindenmeyr Munroe division who is now also SPR President.

OPI: Bill, for those of our readers who are not entirely familiar with CNG, could you give a brief rundown of the company’s history and activities?

Bill Meany: Sure. CNG has primarily been involved in the forestry sector and products related to it. We are a fifth-generation business, founded in 1886, and have been continuously run by the same family since then.

We have offices in 29 countries, with 4,300 employees, and sell in 100 other geographies.

OPI: Something of a hidden giant. Has reaching that figure been through M&A, organic growth or a bit of both? Are you an acquisitive company by nature?

BM: We are. In distribution, we go back to 1984 when CNG acquired Lindenmeyr Paper. But we really began buying other companies in earnest from 2010 onwards, after the financial crisis.

OPI CEO Steve Hilleard interviewed S.P. Richards’ Bill Meany at the company’s recent vendor summit. The topic of conversation?

CNG/SPR: a good fit?

We’ve had some very strategic transactions in the book publishing segment and in our international business, expanding our core competencies and getting into products such as plywood and metals.

We’ve also grown the group organically and made major investments in technology, facilities, people and inventory on the distribution side to grow that segment.

OPI: Let’s talk about SPR. How did this acquisition come about?

BM: We’ve known SPR and its management for a long time. When Mike [Maggio] and Yancey [Jones Sr] decided to sell the business, one of their goals was to keep it as an independent wholesale distributor. We were a potential acquirer and naturally started to engage with them.

We have a great deal of respect for how Mike and Yancey approached the purchase. Their

Getting to know the new President and his aspirations for the wholesaler

primary concern was for their people. They were focused on protecting their staff and we are pleased we were able to retain all 1,300 employees – it was very important to us.

There was probably a bit of surprise in the industry about CNG being the purchaser. However, we understand the distribution part of SPR’s business and have operated in the channel for years. As such, for us, it was not as much of a stretch as one might imagine.

We are in the paper business which has its own set of challenges. The diversification of products, customers and suppliers, and certainly the number of transactions that occur daily at SPR really appealed to us.

supporting suppliers and customers. We believe this is an important component of the make-up of the company.

There are many things we do in terms of our organisation that we can use to enhance what is happening at SPR.

OPI: What shape did you find SPR in when doing your due diligence and also once you had the keys?

BM: The wholesaler – and its management –was certainly a victim of unfortunate timing, as Mike and Yancey’s acquisition coincided with COVID-19. To be in the business products channel and have everyone leave their offices is about as difficult a situation as you could imagine. It led to a lot of pressure on the financial side of the business.

OPI: How did you end up getting parachuted into Atlanta as the new SPR President?

BM: I have spent my entire career of more than 40 years at Lindenmeyr, so I would like to think I know the distribution business reasonably well. We’ve made 16 acquisitions altogether on the Lindenmeyr Munroe side, so that’s another area where I have considerable experience.

I also believe I can bring a deep knowledge of our culture to the table. That’s important. We can add some of the institutional knowledge in our distribution business to SPR while, vice versa, we will leverage several of the things the team at SPR does into our affairs.

OPI: How would you describe the cultural fit between the two companies?

BM: SPR has a deeply committed, dedicated group of experienced professionals and what I would describe as a very strong culture of

The consequence of it was the challenges presented in making continued investments, which is one thing we can absolutely help with. We will be able to strengthen the balance sheet, put ourselves in a better position with vendors, and open up the supply chain – which has been seriously challenged over the past few years.

OPI: Would you say it was a distressed sale?

BM: I wouldn’t, but there were difficulties with the financing of the business and funding growth, no doubt.

OPI: What are the short- and medium-term plans for you and the team now? How engaged will you be in the business, given the other responsibilities you already have?

BM: I will be very engaged. Over the first 90 days, there are three things we want to accomplish. The first is to meet our employees and we are out trying to get to know as many of them as we can. As with every acquisition we have made, we are excited to be adding experienced, talented people to CNG.

When Mike [Maggio] and Yancey [Jones Sr] decided to sell the business, one of their goals was to keep it as an independent wholesale distributor

The second point is to stabilise supplier relationships – to create an opportunity to improve the supply chain with all our vendors and enable a more consistent flow of product. We are in the process of doing that with the manufacturing community.

Thirdly, it is vital for us to invest in inventory. Listening to our customers and suppliers, the biggest issue SPR has faced over the past three years was a lack of inventory.

OPI: Was this a cash flow problem or the inability to get product because of the global supply chain issues?

BM: A combination of both, but where we can help is with the cash flow. We have already seen that our capability to engage with suppliers in a different fashion has allowed us access to products and improve relationships with our vendors.

OPI: Dealers are bouncing back from COVID as well. Some fared quite well during the pandemic, others not so much. But they are in growth mode. So what does this acquisition mean for your independent dealer channel customers?

BM: We will be in a better position to service the IDC. We will have a much deeper and broader inventory and be able to invest in technology and our logistics. In the longer term, we will operate slightly differently to how we’re doing things today.

We will work hard to put decision-making closer to the customer and empower our sales teams to make decisions in the field. Our aim is to be fast and nimble in dealing with all our clients – which very much include the IDC.

OPI: Are there any specific new services and propositions in the pipeline?

BM: We are moving towards different types of delivery to service the jan/san category and engaging more with people on small parcel delivery. But what we are really striving to do is to execute better.

OPI: What will come after these first few objectives – what’s the longer-term plan as far as you are concerned?

BM: We have a desire to strategically grow the company and also believe there will be synergies to take out expense. An example would be that we do a lot with third-party logistics in our CNG distribution business. Some of this service we can move to SPR thanks to its national footprint.

We are confident there will be opportunities to take advantage of our expertise in distribution to drive out operating expenses. We’re looking forward to doing that, but it will be a slow process.

We have all the necessary tools, but haven’t had the chance to take them out and use them properly. Freeing up our people to operate with more support and execute with a little more freedom is going to be meaningful for our dealers. This is what they’re asking us to do.

OPI: There’s clearly a massive need for diversification. What commitment can you give that you really understand this and will double down on inventory and capacity for these other products which are absolutely essential for dealers to get into now?

BM: I’m 45 days into the job and it’s probably too early to answer this properly. What I will say is we are committed to growing other parts of the business outside of

We are committed to growing other parts of the business outside of office products

Supporting City of Hope (l-r): Smead’s Casey Avent, SPR’s Bill Meany, HP Inc’s David Lary and ACCO Brands’ Boris Elisman

office products. We know the traditional office supplies segment is under pressure, so we are developing – and investing in – our furniture, jan/san, breakroom and technology offerings. We’re also making investments in areas other than the traditional furniture category to offer a much greater out-of-the-office component.

Ask me the same question in six months’ time, and I will definitely give you a better answer on the specifics.

OPI: We’ve spoken about the IDC, but you have other customers, of course – ODP being a notable one. How has this client reacted to the new ownership news?

BM: I am reluctant to comment on individual companies, but we obviously have strong relationships in different parts of our business with every customer in the channel. It has been pretty much business as usual with all of them.

Suffice to say ODP is a very good and long-term customer we are fully engaged with.

OPI: It would be impossible not to refer to your primary competitor’s unfortunate cyberattack recently. It must have created a bit of a gain for SPR, but I’m sure you have some sympathy for this operator.

BM: Yes, ‘unfortunate’ is an understatement. We really do feel for them because this kind of attack can happen to anyone. We have seen it in the paper business where organisations – which have invested a lot of resources in minimising cyberattacks – have been seriously compromised. We hope they will be fully functional again very quickly – there is no pleasure in taking advantage of an opportunity like this.

OPI: It’s obviously a scary situation for its customers, especially the first call ones. BM: It’s extremely challenging. I would like to think we’ve done a good job stepping up over these past few weeks to support dealers in the channel. But we also know they will work through these issues and come to a resolution.

OPI: Last question. In March, we published our first-ever list of influential women in the business products industry and SPR’s Kimberly Fulford was included. I believe you actually have quite a large number of women in managerial positions within SPR. BM: We are exceptionally proud of Kimberly’s well-deserved inclusion. It has been a strategy of the company to give opportunities to and empower all its employees.

SEEING IS believing

revenues from dry erase boards and markers were up 10% and 16% respectively, with flip chart sales growing by an impressive 32%. These spikes have particularly come from within the education, health care and social assistance verticals, according to the research firm.

Many product categories in the business supplies space suffered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. One that’s bucked the trend – and continues to do incredibly well – is visual communications.

Virtually overnight, as lockdowns hit and businesses and, of course, entire education settings reverted to home-based working/ learning, face-to-face communication became very difficult. Demand for videoconferencing equipment and associated supplies went through the roof and sales of other items such as webcams, microphones and headsets increased exponentially.

Even now, many employers have to ensure their premises are suitably equipped with the appropriate viscom products to facilitate the ongoing hybrid working scenarios that appear here to stay.

Away from the tech side of the category, US data from Circana (formerly The NPD Group) shows significant dollar increases in sales of more day-to-day items. In 2022, year-on-year

Netherlands-based Showdown Displays Europe is a specialist in promotional signs and display systems. Nicola Forani, Director of New Business Development and Strategic Accounts, also paints a comprehensively positive picture of the sector: “Many people are now going back to work on a regular basis and both public institutions and private companies continue to invest heavily in viscom products.

“In 2022, we saw 20% growth in year-on-year sales, with the best performing items being snap frames and lockable notice boards. In 2023, we expect an additional 20% growth for these products, with a 30% rise in items designed particularly for use in public spaces and the hotel and catering industry.”

ON DISPLAY

Another operator in the field is US-based Polyvision Corporation. It manufactures ceramic steel surfaces for applications such as whiteboards, chalkboards, architectural

The visual communications sector appears to be in great health, boasting a vast array of options where products can be applied. The future is certainly looking bright – by David Holes

Globally, the viscom sector now represents a $35 billion opportunity

surfaces and panels for infrastructure projects. The company estimates that, globally, the viscom sector now represents a $35 billion opportunity.

“That’s a lot of potential,” says CEO Kevin McCoy. “And it continues to grow – we don’t see it slowing down. We are making investments both in the US and around the world to take advantage of this growth. We see this $35 billion market as one that’s broken into several segments. Polyvision concentrates on three of those target areas: education, workplace and architecture.”

As part of the latter of these three verticals – architecture – McCoy also highlights public spaces as high in demand for its products. “We’re doing a lot of work on the walls of airports, transit stations and connecting tunnels. We’ve just finished a bike tunnel in Nashville, Tennessee, for instance, that was lined with a printed mural which made it a much cleaner and safer environment for people to use.

“One of the benefits of our ceramic-coated steel is its highly reflective surface – even when it’s printed. That quality makes any area brighter and it’s a perfect solution for the walls of a bike or pedestrian walkway.

“We’ve done similar projects in Sweden and Denmark and the transformations have been pronounced. Our ability to print on ceramic steel allows us to display anything from fine art to wayfinding signs. But we’re not just making whiteboards – we can also do floor-to-ceiling architectural elements that add dimension and dynamism to a classroom or office.”

The market is equally buoyant down under as Mark Bowdern, Managing Director of Sydney-based Visionchart asserts. He refers to an increase in enquiries for both traditional whiteboards, architectural writing boards and pinnable surface products. Strong growth originated from the educational sector, with requests for vibrant colours to energise learning spaces.

He adds: “Display and notice cases are also popular – these typically have a hinged or sliding glass door. Significant demand has come from government departments, schools, universities and warehouses – likely to address the need for effectively showing important health and safety information.”

RETURN TO THE WORKPLACE

While the viscom sector clearly benefitted from the initially sharp transition to homeworking, it’s also now profiting from the gradual return to the workplace. As businesses try to encourage staff to come back into the office, they are upgrading spaces to make them attractive.

This desire to create a more enticing workplace was first seen in the furniture sector, but this is now spilling over into other areas. In fact, many businesses are prepared to spend considerable amounts of money to tempt employees back in and the viscom category is a definite beneficiary.

As Bowdern explains, while the return to work has begun, a large percentage of the workforce still wants to work from home. Consequently, organisations are reconfiguring their spaces to make them ‘home-like’ for when staff do come in. This is reflected in the use of softer furnishings and relaxed methods of meeting, for example. Viscom solutions have further become more mobile whereby products can be moved between group spaces.

“Visionchart has responded to these needs by introducing improved mobile boards, including our new configurable Quiet Glass mobile. One side is a coloured magnetic writing glass but in a softer colour palette that better emulates home décor. On the reverse side is an acoustic panel to quieten any ambient sound.”

With this increasing desire for mobility comes another shift – fewer walls. Says Bowdern: “We have known this for many years as the ‘open plan’ layout, but the trend has accelerated

Polyvision’s transformation of an underground station in Brussels, Belgium

Snap frames by Showdown Displays

so that a wall in the office must now have a specific function. Often, they are designated as a viscom writing wall, where the entire surface can be written upon.

“This has created demand for larger writing panels of up to 150 cm in width, with less frame area or no frame at all. For smaller dividers, meanwhile, we see a growing trend in acoustic products for controlling sound levels, either with a distinctive pattern or in a printable design that could, for example, depict a view of a city skyline or palm-fringed beach.”

When people are in the office, they typically do so to collaborate and communicate, often in a planning and brainstorming way. In this context, meeting and presentation products are still very much required, according to Danny Berendsen, European Sales Director at Portuguese vendor Bi-silque.

Of course, some question the future role of traditional writing boards, given the rise of high-tech alternatives. Not Bowdern. He comments: “Employees will always want to express themselves and the ease by which anyone can just grab a marker and share a thought is very powerful.

“This thought then takes shape and becomes something other team members can add to. It’s something we call ‘visual democracy’ – the ability to give a voice to even the quietest member of the team allowing them to express their insights. You simply don’t get this spontaneity, this creativity, from a PowerPoint slide or an LCD panel – both are far less collaborative.”

ATTITUDE SHIFT

Another very notable trend in this segment –similar to many other categories, in fact – is that customers increasingly want viscom products which are sustainably produced and delivered. Says Berendsen: “Yes, you may benefit from a 10-20% price reduction by buying from Asia, but shipping it all that way adds to pollution and flies in the face of CSR.

For those still able to work from home – some or all of the time – viscom requirements are quite different, he adds: “To address these, our home office solutions are directed towards a more natural look, with wood frame boards or designs which incorporate home décor colours – often in smaller sizes. This results in a more personalised look.”

It’s also important to note, he says, that while many categories – including print, paper, breakroom or stationery – are heavily affected by staff working from home one or two days a week, the same doesn’t apply so negatively to the viscom market. “For these consumables, the impact can be considerable, as there is effectively 20% or 40% less demand.”

“We’re seeing far more local sourcing as customers seek to reduce their carbon footprint, with these considerations especially prevalent in Scandinavian and Benelux countries, plus Germany and the UK. ‘Made in Europe’ is a definitive USP and sourcing locally is a key differential.

“Additionally, there’s huge demand for products that have certifiable circularity. Why throw away an item when you could prolong its life by using spare parts? Bi-silque has developed products such as its KYOTO easels which are fully circular.”

Circularity is also a key philosophy underpinning the ethos at Polyvision. “We have a strong presence in Europe where the Paris Agreement has made sustainability a big concern. It’s something we embrace completely,” says McCoy.

“Our products are 99% recyclable and all scrap from production processes is returned to the steel manufacturer where it’s used to power the blast furnace. This creates a circular economy whereby we aren’t wasting any virgin materials. In addition, no volatile materials or dangerous solvents are used during the production of our ceramic steel surfaces which are Cradle to Cradle bronze certified.”

As Berendsen concludes: “I believe the pandemic reset our way of thinking and the time of cheap mass production is gone for good. Sustainability is a powerful driver which the next generation of leaders in the viscom sector will embrace and develop further.”

I believe the pandemic reset our way of thinking and the time of cheap mass production is gone for good

Bi-silque’s natural home office solutions

The PROMISE

of PAPER

GD: Upon closing the deal, integration has been progressing smoothly and the transition has been seamless for our customers.

OPI: What are Sylvamo’s plans for the mill?

Sylvamo’s acquisition of Stora Enso’s paper mill in Nymölla, Sweden, not only tripled the vendor’s uncoated paper capacity in Europe, but it also brought into the family a facility with exceptional environmental credentials.

OPI spoke to Gerald Demets, Sylvamo’s Commercial Director, Uncoated Wood-free Paper and Pulp Europe, about what the mill brings to the table and how it will advance the vendor’s sustainability journey.

OPI: You completed the purchase of the Nymölla mill in January this year. What does this facility add to Sylvamo’s portfolio?

Gerald Demets: Nymölla, which produces cut size papers, business forms, digital papers and offset, with two pulp lines and two paper machines, has an excellent environmental footprint. It complements our purpose to produce paper in the most responsible and sustainable ways.

This addition brings together talented teams, iconic brands, world-class operations and a shared commitment to health, safety and sustainability. The Nymölla mill strengthens our product mix and enables us to better serve our customers across Europe.

OPI: How far down the track are you now in terms of integrating the mill into your global paper business?

GD: Our goal is to enhance what we offer European customers. We are excited about the opportunities the mill brings and the benefits it will provide to our customers.

OPI: How does this strengthened footprint fit into Sylvamo’s CSR strategy? How does Nymölla compare to your other European mill in Saillat, France, for example?

GD: As a general statement, Sylvamo’s environmental strategy aims to respond to the high expectations of European customers for corporate social responsibility. One aspect of this is to ensure our mills have excellent sustainability credentials. In that regard, Nymölla is a perfect fit.

Our Saillat operation you refer to has equally outstanding credentials, but the two are not necessarily comparable as they produce different types of pulp based on the locally available wood species.

That said, both mills prioritise using renewable energy sources, with 85% of their energy consumption coming from biomass residuals. They also benefit from low carbon grid electricity in France and Sweden. These mills have a long history of operating

Our brands play a critical role in our 2030 goals to operate environmentally responsibly

With the addition of the Nymölla mill, Sylvamo further enhances its journey of sustainable paper production

Gerald Demets

sustainably and have been ISO 14001 certified for their environmental management system –since 1996 for Saillat and 1997 for Nymölla. To increase energy efficiency, Nymölla has also had an ISO 50001 energy management system in place since 2015, while Saillat will receive this certification later this year.

Both mills have FSC, PEFC and EU Ecolabel paper certifications. Due to its location, Nymölla is also Nordic Swan certified.

OPI: Please tell me a bit about Sylvamo’s overall CSR outlook.

GD: We are committed to the long-term health of our entire ecosystem. This includes the forests we love, the communities we live in and the customers who rely on our paper.

Our 2030 goals best represent this commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility. Later this year, we will publish our first sustainability report offering even more transparency.

To ensure consistency, we are working to harmonise all CSR efforts between the two mills. This approach will help us to better communicate our sustainability endeavours to all stakeholders which include customers, employees and local communities.

OPI: Let’s talk about your brands. How do they reflect your strategy?

GD: Sylvamo’s four strategic brands in Europe – REY, Multicopy, HP Papers and PRO DESIGN – fit perfectly with our mission to transform renewable resources into papers that people depend on for education, communication and entertainment.

Our brands play a critical role in our 2030 goals to operate environmentally responsibly and provide customers with high-quality products.

OPI: What specifically do these brands bring to the table?

GD: We believe in the power of paper to educate, communicate and entertain. Paper connects us to one another and is an enduring bond to renewable, natural resources.

Our brands represent the fact that the future of paper deserves a company committed to the success of the entire ecosystem. As I said before – from the forests we love, to the communities where we live and the people who rely on our paper. The well-being of each of these components depends on the well-being of them all.

REY, for instance, partners with the annual Telethon in France and the National Literacy Trust in the UK to promote childhood education and literacy to equip the next generation with the necessary tools and resources to achieve their full potential. (Editor’s note: Sylvamo won Initiative of the Year at the European Office Products Awards in March for its 2022 Comics Rule! campaign with the National Literacy Trust – see EOPA review on page 38)

HP Papers has an annual campaign to fight breast cancer with proceeds of its HP Pink Ream donated to organisations which work towards breast cancer awareness, prevention and treatment. The initiative makes a considerable difference to the lives of women affected by the disease. Multicopy, meanwhile, works with Nordics energy company Gasum to promote sustainable energy solutions.

All these brands have a very active role to play in terms of highlighting our strategy and achieving our goals.

OPI: How do you remain innovative, particularly in extremely challenging times?

GD: By constantly listening and responding to feedback from end-users and distribution partners. If we do that, we can identify opportunities for innovation that make a real difference in the marketplace.

It’s worth pointing out that there is more to office products than just the products themselves. How they are packaged and presented is important too. During the pandemic, we developed the three-ream box for people suddenly working from home, for instance. It is an excellent example of how we respond to our customers’ changing needs.

OPI: Are you positive about the future?

GD: We are. We successfully navigated many challenges since becoming an independent, publicly traded company. Sylvamo is committed to its vision of being the employer, supplier and investment of choice. The key to success is agility and the ability to react quickly to meet the needs of our team members, customers and investors.

All over THE PAPERS

Over the past year, the European office paper market has been hit by capacity reductions, Russian mill closures following the country’s invasion of Ukraine and restricted imports from Asia due to exorbitant sea freight rates. On top of that, exploding costs for energy and other price hikes have forced vendors to significantly increase their prices.

At the same time – albeit with poor availability, long lead times and an uncertain outlook on pricing – stocks across the whole supply chain increased substantially.

“We’re now in a market where buyers and resellers are reducing their stock levels and manufacturers are actually lacking orders, with operating rates below acceptable levels. It will take a while before a normal supply/demand balance is re-established, but resellers and their customers no longer need to be afraid of restricted availability and increased pricing like we experienced last year.”

THE US VIEW

Eric Kriegsman, Procurement

Manager Europe at RAJA Group-owned Viking, says this all led to a scenario where resellers were unable to fulfil volume requirements and forced to swallow these inflationary costs, which were ultimately passed on to their customers.

However, he adds that the situation changed quite drastically during the final months of 2022. “Energy prices more or less normalised, sea freight rates decreased sharply and available capacity could again meet demand.

A similar situation exists on the other side of the Atlantic, according to an industry source. He reports that the Federal Reserve’s campaign to bring down high inflation has slowed price increases, with extra paper available from foreign suppliers and declining ocean freight charges making them more competitive against domestic players.

This, he says, will likely drive competition and force paper vendors to rethink their pricing strategy to maintain market share. “As such, you’ll see the average cost of copy paper decline from previous levels, although I don’t predict a complete collapse in pricing, as we saw in the years prior to the pandemic.

“That said, if operating rates consistently drop below 90% come Q2, I do believe paper

The paper industry has seen huge swings in fortunes as geopolitical events have played out across the globe – by David Holes

mills will take downtime. Alternatively, they’ll need to reassess their equipment strategy with conversion to more profitable products, or permanently shut down machines and reduce capacity entirely.”

HYBRID WORKING IMPACT

While the supply and demand see-saw appears to be levelling out, it’s evident that the COVID-induced shift in working practices is having a considerable effect on the demand for paper. It’s a dynamic situation which needs close monitoring, says John Parke, Customer Marketing Manager at Domtar in the US.

“2022 saw an increase in demand for office paper, with year-on-year growth gaining back some of the ground lost since 2020, as employees returned to the workplace. However, the prevailing view is that there will be a levelling off in this demand recovery this year, unless we witness a real push for mandatory five-days-in-the-office policies becoming the norm. And this is unlikely.”

experienced pre-COVID demand in these legacy categories coming back.

“Hybrid working is here to stay, with reduced demand for all traditional OP as a consequence. There is a stronger need for hybrid and home office solutions and we are expanding our portfolio accordingly.”

AUSTRALIAN ANGUISH

In addition to the impact of evolving work preferences and the backwash from geopolitical events triggered by war in Europe, the global paper industry also had to deal with localised supply side and resource issues.

In February, for example, Nippon Paper announced its Australian subsidiary Opal Australian Paper would permanently cease production of graphic papers – which include A4 copy paper – at its Maryvale mill in the state of Victoria. This came after the company’s supplier VicForests was forced to halt eucalyptus timber production in an area inhabited by an endangered species of possum. Opal concluded that finding a viable alternative source was not possible.

The effects of home or hybrid working are also influencing the types of products that consumers are buying. As Christina Fadler, Senior Communications Manager at Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper, comments: “While there has been a general trend over the past 12 months of employees returning to offices, they are often still keeping their home arrangements in place for at least part of their working week.

“As such, we’re still seeing higher demand for printing paper in smaller packs which is optimised for the inkjet printers often used in domestic spaces.”

Parke concurs: “Sales of three-ream and five-ream packs grew again in 2022, while eight-ream sizes declined. This is an indication of the higher percentage of work still being done in the home office. The latest figures are likely to reveal sales reverting back to the standard 10-ream cartons as more offices have reopened.”

Kriegsman, meanwhile – and this is perhaps a geographical difference in work patterns and what employers are happy to accept – does not expect a return to the pre-2020 status quo anytime soon: “The closure of premises during the pandemic saw traditional ways of document processing and archiving suddenly abandoned and replaced by digital applications. Since then, we have not

The facility will now focus purely on packaging products, with its M5 paper machine being discontinued. Maryvale was the only remaining domestic copy paper machine in Australia, producing up to 220,000 tonnes a year. The loss of this facility is causing huge supply issues across the region.

Adam Joy, CEO of dealer group Office Brands, explains the difficulties it has been experiencing. “We just can’t get our whole volume from one provider at the moment. Mills are running at full capacity and there’s no way that a single supplier can carve out an extra 15,000 tonnes just for us. We’ve had to pick up 3,000 here and 4,000 there, and we’re chatting

Hybrid working is here to stay, with reduced demand for all traditional OP as a consequence

Paper storage at Viking’s facility in Großostheim, Germany

to everyone across the world including India, Thailand, Indonesia and China. There’s paper coming from everywhere. Everyone is similarly affected and is trying to find their volume wherever they can.

“Another big issue concerns the import tariffs in place in Australia. They were introduced to try and protect the Australian business which now no longer exists. However, they make the imports that we are currently forced to rely on more expensive.

“It doesn’t make any sense and we’ve raised it with the government minister responsible. But the authorities don’t seem in a rush to look at the problem and, of course, they still get revenue out of it. Unfortunately, it’ll probably be at least six months before we get an outcome here.” (For more on the Australian business supplies landscape, see our Big Interview on page 18).

Europe is also likely to see more imported paper in the future. Kriegsman notes that the production capacity for woodfree uncoated paper on the continent has seen a significant reduction over recent years and this is not expected to change in the foreseeable future. In fact, further reductions are anticipated.

A fire at Resolute Forest Products’ recycled pulp mill in Michigan towards the end of last year, meanwhile, continues to cause supply issues in the US. The company – now owned by Domtar – is one of the main providers of the product in the region, with the facility normally producing 171,000 tonnes of pulp annually.

THE GREEN DEBATE

The impact of the fire has opened up a conversation about the need for continued diversification in the sourcing of raw materials, while maintaining the positive story the North American paper industry has to tell, according to Parke: “Producing recycled copy paper is

one way to make an eco-friendly contribution, but so is buying virgin product coming from SFI or FSC sources.”

On the topic of sustainability, Mondi’s Fadler adds that while the demand for more environmentally sound consumption from paper customers has been there for many years, it was further exacerbated by the pandemic as well as increased reporting of climate change challenges.

“A particular topic we’ve seen emerge concerns product circularity, as it is key to using our scarce resources responsibly. Creating recycled paper from post-consumer waste involves a complicated network of collection, cleaning, de-inking and, finally, the production of new paper from what was formerly waste. Specifically challenging is de-inking – the process of removing printed inks from waste paper – so it can be made into usable paper again.

“This difficult procedure can be made much easier by using specially treated paper. Whatever the customer’s needs — be they CO2 neutral, totally chlorine free, recycled, Blue Angel, FSC or PEFC-certified paper — all of Mondi’s products are sustainably produced.”

In sustainability terms, Kriegsman refers to the European pulp and paper industry as one of the biggest success stories of the last century. He cites the fact that all primary forests in the region are protected and paper comes from sustainably managed sources where the cycle of planting, growing and logging is carefully controlled. The area covered by forest has actually grown considerably over the past two decades.

He adds: “The sector is one of the lowest industrial producers of greenhouse gases, accounting for less than 0.8% of the European total, with carbon emissions having reduced by 48% per tonne of product from 1990 to 2019. Additionally, between 2010 and 2018, the industry reduced its total energy consumption by 11.6%. It produces 54.3% of its electricity on-site, of which more than 96% is generated through highly efficient combined heat and power plants.

“By using paper from sustainably managed forests and always recycling it, we really do not have to feel guilty about buying this natural and renewable product,” he concludes.

In sustainability terms, [...] the European pulp and paper industry [is] one of the biggest success stories of the last century

For the love of… BUSINESS SUPPLIES

opportunity to get together in a more relaxed style and raise a glass to all that is innovative, progressive and resilient in our sector.

Christa Furter’s infectiously enthusiastic industry toast at the 22nd European Office Products Awards celebrations summed up not only the mood of the evening, but also that of the OPI Partnership event which enveloped the gala dinner. The Viking Europe Managing Director referred to plenty of challenges in our sector, but even more opportunities.

Furter had three words for what she loves about our industry: people, products and challenges. They perfectly encapsulate what the EOPA are all about: highlighting the achievements of the European business supplies space, be that through innovative products and initiatives, companies which overcome obstacles and find new avenues for growth or inspirational individuals who always seek solutions – for their business partners, customers and employees.

After the first full day of OPI Partnership – held from 12-14 March, once again at the outstanding Hotel Okura in Amsterdam – the EOPA dinner presented a wonderful

As the winners of this year’s EOPA were announced, there were many occasions of tears and laughter, rapturous applause and standing ovations.

IMPRESSIVE ACHIEVEMENTS

OPI CEO Steve Hilleard, who compèred the evening and is also Chairman of the EOPA judging panel, said: “For the 22nd time, leaders from the European business supplies sector came together to reward the very best of what our industry has to offer. We have witnessed unprecedented challenges over the past three years. To not only overcome them, but thrive at the same time, with exciting new products, inspiring campaigns and initiatives, and outstanding leadership is truly a remarkable achievement.

“Whether it’s responding to the renewed focus on sustainability, the reality of hybrid working or the non-negotiable need to embrace e-commerce, the EOPA judging panel was hugely impressed with the calibre of nominations in a total of 12 categories and the excellence of the winners in every single one of them.”

OPI Partnership and the European Office Products Awards once again proved a winning combination in Amsterdam

EUROPEAN OFFICE PRODUCTS AWARDS 2023 REVIEW

Christa Furter

BUSINESS PRODUCT OF THE YEAR

WINNER: ACCO Brands

Business Product of the Year was the first award of the EOPA night and it was once again the category that had attracted the most entries pre-judging.

A hotly-contested shortlist resulted in ACCO Brands finally pipping everyone to the post with its Leitz Ergo range. The EOPA judges thought the product expertly shows the evolution of a brand – which began with a laptop stand. Now comprising a selection of stylish and ergonomic items that combine home style comfort with premium quality and functionality, Leitz Ergo has transformed the perception of a category and the items it should contain.

Designed to improve user well-being, the range also caters for a hybrid workforce that’s clearly here to stay.

WHOLESALER OF THE YEAR

MARKETING CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR

WINNER: PBS Holding

The next award recognised a dynamic wholesaler which has been addressing the fast-changing demands of a difficult marketplace.

Austria’s PBS Holding scooped the Wholesaler of the Year award and was commended by the EOPA judges for doing an outstanding job in a channel that has been hugely challenged and remains in a constant state of flux. In a year of spiralling costs and intense supply chain pressures, this operator has maintained its clear focus.

PBS Holding’s unwavering efforts in the area of sustainability and services, plus its acquisition strategy in recent years, has helped it become the leading business supplies wholesaler in Central and Eastern Europe.

YOUNG EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

WINNER: James Day

We need more young talent in our industry to ensure its survival and continued success. Judging by the quantity – and quality – of entries, there’s certainly enough talent coming in; the challenge lies in retaining it.

It was James Day, Sales & Marketing Director at Durable UK, who won the first of the three individual awards – Young Executive of the Year – amid considerable competition from his contemporaries. According to EOPA Chair Steve Hilleard, it was one of the most difficult categories to be judged in EOPA history.

WINNER: Pilot Corporation of Europe – So Easy Marketing Campaign of the Year is always a category which attracts plenty of entries and this year was no exception. Clearly showing the objectives of a campaign, being original and creative are all part of the criteria that need to be met; as is, of course, demonstrating an excellent return on investment.

Pilot Corporation of Europe really stood out for the EOPA judges – quite simply best in class, they said. The vendor’s So Easy campaign was regarded as a highly integrated and engaging initiative that was well composed. Importantly also, it delivered great ROI and a clear message in a product range – FriXion – which is now very mature. Back-to-school is a key market for the writing instruments sector and this campaign expertly drove sales during this critical time.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Avery UK – Think Safe, Work Safe

Introduced by EVO Buying Director Simon McLoughlin, Day impressed the judges with his outstanding work ethic and how he has built trust with channel partners. He has a clear vision of how Durable can grow with its resellers and has already made a real impact at the vendor, both in terms of sales growth as well as with his internal team efforts.

L-R: James Day and Simon McLoughlin

L-R: Pilot’s Maxime Vignal and Franck Barelle

L-R: ACCO Brands’ Jaap van Selm with eBay’s Sandy Kirchhoff

L-R: Bi-silque’s André Vasconcelos with Richard Scharmann from PBS Holding

MARKETPLACE/PLATFORM OF THE YEAR

WINNER: Unite

Marketplace/Platform of the Year is a new category that has been introduced to acknowledge the growing importance of this online sellling/buying method in the business supplies space. The judges were looking for an exceptional operation which offers a superior customer experience as well as a commitment to maximising opportunities for selling partners.

It was Unite – formely Mercateo – that emerged as the winner. This operator is challenging traditional models and is enjoying considerable success with its B2B marketplace. The EOPA judges highlighted the positive impact Unite has had on our sector so far, particularly given some formidable competition.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Amazon

SUSTAINABILITY EXCELLENCE – VENDOR

INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR

WINNER: Exacompta

Real sustainability excellence remains a tough ask and not many operators in our industry have got to this level just yet. In the vendor-specific category, the EOPA judges commended France-based Exacompta for its outstanding environmental journey, highlighting considerable investments along the way while at the same maintaining an unwavering focus on quality. A deeply traditional, family-owned organisation, Exacompta has made sustainability a core focus of its operations, resulting in a transformation that is nothing short of extraordinary.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Cheeky Panda

SUSTAINABILITY EXCELLENCE – RESELLER

WINNER: Commercial

Commercial ticked all the boxes in the reseller category of Sustainability Excellence. It undoubtedly is a business like no other in the European workplace supplies industry. Sustainability is truly in Commercial’s DNA and the UK operator’s efforts consistently go well beyond best practice across all aspects of the company. At the same time, implementation of its programmes – and the communication associated with it – is outstanding, benefitting not only the business itself, but also its customers and the wider community. This is a company that lives and breathes sustainability.

WINNER: Sylvamo Europe

Initiative of the Year was another award which attracted a diverse array of entries, illustrating that innovative thinking is alive and well in our space.

Following a lengthy debate, Sylvamo Europe was declared the winner for its highly effective 2022 Comics Rule! campaign. The initiative saw Sylvamo’s REY brand link up with the National Literacy Trust to help improve reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in the UK’s most disadvantaged communities where up to 40% of people have literacy problems. The EOPA judges were hugely impressed with this campaign and its strong links to an important charity.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Lyreco UK & Ireland – Lyreco Goodness Supplier Support Programme

Wim Dootselaere from Sylvamo

Commercial’s Simone Hindmarch with Greenspeed’s Michel de Bruin

L-R: Exacompta’s Charles Nusse and Fabien Fauque with Lyreco’s Juraj Nemjo

L-R: TFE Agency’s Bob Boekema with Unite’s Constance Martiny Sondag

BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR

RESELLER OF THE YEAR

WINNER: Böttcher

Germany’s Böttcher won the Reseller of the Year award because it, quite simply, fulfilled all category criteria – and more. Not only is the company’s sales growth outstanding, but it’s unmatched in a very difficult market.

This is an organisation that excels in all its operational functions but also pays close attention to staff well-being –it looks after its people in a consistently impressive way.

WINNER: Kenneth Borup

The second ‘people’ award of the EOPA night went to an individual with comprehensive business knowledge, plenty of leadership skills and incredible humility.

The winner was introduced by Christian Langvad, VP of Operations at Schäfer Shop. He referred to Kenneth Borup – CEO of Denmark-based Lomax – as pioneering, transformational and highly participatory. It is no surprise that the company itself is a previous EOPA winner in the Reseller of the Year category.

Under Borup’s leadership, revenues at this online operator – where an engaged and positive company culture is a top priority – have grown over 100%, while at the same time maintaining solid profitability.

VENDOR OF THE YEAR

WINNER: tesa

The penultimate EOPA rewards a vendor that pays attention to and succeeds in many areas: sales performance and market share gains; high-quality products and service-driven solutions; diversification; supply chain performance; and brand strength.

Perhaps at no time in recent history have customers needed as much support and agility as during and post-COVID-19. Germany’s tesa, said the EOPA judges, has gone above and beyond its original focus and expertly reshaped the organisation to meet market changes –always with its reseller partners in mind.

The panel was impressed with tesa’s significant investments in innovation, sustainability, adhesive technologies and new business fields. All of these efforts combined create a solid foundation for successful, strong and reliable partnerships in the future.

Böttcher has paid COVID bonuses, inflationary increases and invested in high-end new facilities which incorporate both a top-class logistics upgrade as well as a wide range of staff amenities. A phenomenal company and a deserved winner in this category, the EOPA judges said.

INDUSTRY ACHIEVEMENT

WINNER: Dr Benedikt Erdmann

Arguably the most prestigious award of the night went to a very well-known personality in the German business supplies sector. Introduced by another former winner, PBS Holding’s Richard Scharmann paid tribute to an individual who has made a remarkable contribution to his company and the sector as a whole in his specific market.

It was Soennecken’s Group CEO Dr Benedikt Erdmann who took home the trophy. Under his 26-year watch, the dealer cooperative has been transformed from a deeply traditional and loss-making purchasing group into a modern, market-leading, financially sound operator.

The EOPA judges commended Dr Erdmann’s operational excellence and strategic vision, while at the same time always keeping a keen eye on a positive and happy company environment.

Indeed, the winner, in accepting the accolade, referred to his team as the driving force behind the group’s success.

Udo Böttcher

Kenneth Borup (l and r) with Christian Langvad

L-R: tesa’s Vincenzo Sammarco, Marcus Bohn and Andreas Soick

Dr Benedikt Erdmann

TIME TO TALK – and listen

Europe’s business products sector is challenged like it’s never been challenged before. This is true from an economic, political as well as industry-specific perspective.

As such, it’s vital for leaders to step outside the constraints of running their day-to-day operations and into a place where they can listen, learn and talk about the wider picture. And then create a pathway to implement change and safeguard the future relevance and success of their organisations.

All of this is the remit of the OPI European Forum – to educate and inform in a highly collaborative yet confidential manner. Chatham House rules, as always, apply to all that’s said and done at this senior-level conference and networking occasion, ensuring open debate and discussion.

This year’s event will be held from 22-24 May, right in the heart of Europe, at the historic Pestana Amsterdam Riverside hotel in the Netherlands.

SETTING THE SCENE

There is plenty to discuss after what turned out to be an enormously difficult 2022 for many. As has become tradition at OPI forums, the scene will be set by a panel of industry hard hitters who will give their views of the market.

This year, the panel aptly depicts just how diverse our industry currently is in terms of product and company scope. Panellists include Schäfer Shop’s Christian Langvad, SC Johnson Professional’s Lee Mellor, RS Group’s Christian Horn, RAJA Office’s Alain Josse and ACCO Brands EMEA’s Cezary Mońko.

The variety of speakers also illustrates the wide-ranging issues – and opportunities – we need to address. Reckitt’s Jonathan Weiss, for example, will highlight the continued importance of hygiene in a post-COVID world. ES Tech Group’s Paddy Donnelly elaborates

For more information about the OPI European Forum, the full agenda and details of how to book, please visit www.opi.net/ef2023

on the need for a ‘beautiful’ and ‘seamless’ e-commerce experience in order to guarantee both sales and customer satisfaction. Gordon Christiansen from Highlands, meanwhile, takes it a step further – from e-commerce to ‘everywhere commerce’ and how to do it.

ADDRESSING CONCERNS

In addition, over the course of two days, delegates will hear from external experts about topics that so acutely affect them. Inflation and price increases are omnipresent these days, for instance, and deeply concerning.

James Brown and Juriaan Deumer from Simon-Kucher & Partners will bring their insights gained from different verticals, giving examples of how this difficult component of a business can be managed.

The issue of ‘intelligent pricing’ – especially in the transparent online world – will be covered by Skuuudle’s Andrew Senior (see also Final Word, page 50)

ZOOMING IN

Aside from panel and plenary presentations, several of the themes at the European Forum will be explored in more detail in deep-dive roundtable sessions. Here, delegates can really hone in on the specifics, ask questions and discuss with their peers in smaller, more focused groups.

A highlight of every OPI forum is the chance to network with peers. Many a deal that’s occurred in our space began with an informal chat over a cup of coffee or glass of wine. Don’t miss the opportunity!

OPI EUROPEAN FORUM 2023 PREVIEW

PESTANA AMSTERDAM RIVERSIDE

Delegates will hear from external experts about topics that so acutely affect them

Boris Elisman’s 2023 City of Hope fundraising campaign gets

Towards the end of February, about 100 personalities from the – mostly US – business supplies industry came together in California for the 2023 City of Hope Tour, Golf Outing and Hall of Fame Dinner.

They were a couple of days packed full of information, fundraising and networking. Some of our sector’s biggest names were in attendance, including several former and one future – Essendant’s Harry Dochelli – Spirit of Life honourees and a long list of Hall of Fame inductees. And, of course, this year’s Spirit of Life honouree, ACCO Brands Chairman and CEO Boris Elisman who formally kicked off his ACCOmplishing Hope campaign at the event (see ‘Striving to cross the finish line’, right).

For patient safeguarding reasons, the ‘tour’ itself was once again conducted at a hotel, the Langham Huntington in Pasadena. Over a series of talks, a wide range of City of Hope medical experts as well as patient speaker Ted Schwartz highlighted the groundbreaking work the organisation is conducting and how this is impacting those living with cancer and diabetes.

“City of Hope’s system of provider and research entities now serves approximately 134,000 patients each year, with more than 11,000 team members, 600 physicians and over 1,000 scientists and researchers across a network of locations in California, Arizona, Illinois and Georgia.

“Our vision is to harness genomic insights, clinical expertise and advanced analytics to pioneer personalised treatment and prevention, improving quality of life for our patients and their families.”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

None of this, he added, would be possible without the fundraising efforts by communities across the US and the National Business Products Industry (NBPI) specifically.

As is customary during the always inspirational Hall of Fame dinner, City of Hope recognised a number of individuals who, through personal initiatives, have made a real difference in the industry’s support of the research facility. The 2023 Hall of Fame inductees were JM Smucker’s Marlin Wendland and Domtar’s Greg Strand.

UPCOMING EVENTS

7-8 May

Bob Parker Memorial Golf Classic (hosted by Essendant) – Pinehurst, North Carolina

27 June

NBPI Memorial Golf Classic Hosted (hosted by Essendant) – The Glen Club, Glenview, Illinois

Attendees learned about City of Hope’s most pressing research right now. This, in a nutshell, is precision medicine which essentially enables healthcare providers to plan personalised care based on the genes a person inherited and/or those in their cancer cells.

As Matt Dodd, Senior Executive Director of Corporate Philanthropy, commented: “City of Hope is dedicated to leading the advancement of precision oncology research and treatment. We are currently building more infrastructure to optimise the benefits of precision medicine for patients worldwide.

23-24 July

Honouree Golf Outing (hosted by ACCO Brands) –Shoreacres Golf Club, Lake Bluff, Illinois

5-8 September

City of Hope Industry Golf Challenge – Pebble Beach Resort, California

14 September

NBPI Spirit of Life Gala – Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois

We are currently building more infrastructure to optimise the benefits of precision medicine for patients worldwide

As

underway, we are reminded of just how important our industry’s financial contribution is in the fight to cure cancer and diabetes

STRIVING TO CROSS THE FINISH LINE

OPI caught up with this year’s Spirit of Life honouree Boris Elisman to find out what his campaign – and COH’s work overall – mean to him and our industry.

OPI: How long have you been involved with City of Hope and the NPBI?

Boris Elisman: I attended my first Spirit of Life Gala Dinner in 2008 and joined the NPBI to support the fundraising efforts for City of Hope a year or so later. COH is a beacon of excellence, scientific achievement and hope that cancer and diabetes will be cured in our lifetimes.

All of us know the toll cancer and diabetes can take on our health and that of our loved ones. Both of my parents had cancer and my mother also had diabetes. Despite the tremendous progress that has been made during the past 30 years in improving survival rates and quality of life associated with those diseases, much work remains.

City of Hope is the premier research hospital for discovering innovative treatments for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases, and bringing them to patients in need quickly. ACCO Brands – ACCO World as we were known at the time – was represented at a dinner with Jack Miller and other industry executives in 1983 when the initial decision to support COH was made. The company has been supporting City of Hope ever since.

OPI: Please tell me a bit more about this year’s fundraising campaign.

BE: ACCOmplishing Hope is the name of our campaign. The motivation behind this name is twofold: firstly, we want to find treatments and cures for cancers and diabetes –not just work on them, but accomplish the task of funding them, ie cross the finish line.

Secondly, we want to lead the industry in a successful campaign – accomplish the task of raising substantial funds for COH research.

OPI: What’s the fundraising status so far?

BE: Well, as of the end of February, so after the tour and Hall of Fame dinner, we had raised $6 million for COH. There are many fundraising events yet to come, most of them taking place in the next few months (see ‘Upcoming events’, left)

OPI: Ultimately, what are your goals for your campaign year?

BE: Our goal is to do the best we can. Every dollar counts and it all goes to a great cause – saving lives. Last year’s campaign, led by Peter Scala of Staples, raised $16.3 million. If we can do something close or a little better, it would be a great ‘ACCOmplishment’.

OPI: What were your core takeaways from the event?

BE: It was wonderful to see industry peers and partners again. Due to COVID-related patient safety concerns, the whole group could not visit the City of Hope campus, but a few of us were able to physically tour the facilities and see the impressive improvements made.

But everyone heard from researchers and doctors who came to the Langham Huntington hotel and updated us on their work. This includes immunotherapy trials for breast cancer and neuroblastoma, progress in curing Type I diabetes, and treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia. It was also deeply heartwarming to listen to the touching tributes that Bob Enk, Harry Dochelli and Brooks Smith gave for Mike Robledo and Jennifer Smith.

These couple of days in February are always a potent reminder of the innovative, life-saving work performed by the team at City of Hope, and of the impact their discoveries have on regular people who often include our loved ones.

OPI: Finally, why is it so important our industry continues to get involved with COH?

BE: Over the past 40 years, the NBPI has raised more than $250 million. These funds are used to support innovative life-saving research, attract leading medical talent to COH, and build facilities that shorten the time from discovery to production to patient.

Our fundraising is very important to COH because, unlike government grants, it comes with no strings attached. It funds hunches, crazy new ideas and risky trials that lead to major discoveries which save or improve millions of lives.

Medicines and treatments discovered at COH benefit 100 million patients all over the world every year. There is no cause more noble than saving lives, and our industry’s efforts do just that. Please join us in raising funds for this great cause. Like I said – every dollar counts.

CAREER Q&A

Perpétua Malta

What’s your life philosophy? Everything happens for a reason and one day, it will all make perfect sense.

Describe yourself in one sentence. Determined, hard-working, passionate, caring and very family orientated.

What scares you?

Alzheimer’s, for personal reasons. Seeing someone you love slowly vanish from your life is the worst feeling ever.

What makes you happy?

Spending time with my loved ones. If I can travel at the same time, that would be the icing on the cake.

Best way to spend the weekend?

Chilling on Friday night, spending time with my niece, lunch with an ocean view and dinner with family and friends.

Early bird or night owl? Early bird, for sure.

If you could have the answer to any question, what would you ask? Is there life after death?

What would you cook for a dinner party? For me, it would always be a takeaway.

Favourite time of the year?

Summer – relaxing in the family house on the beach.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

All kinds of chocolate.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I’d love to be 10 cm taller.

What is on your bucket list? Early retirement, with sufficient health, energy and money to travel the world.

What skill would you like to master? Become a better swimmer.

Describe your current job.

I am the Global Sales Director of Portuguese visual communications manufacturer Bi-silque, responsible for our sales and customer service departments globally.

Most difficult work experience?

Working full time for five years while attending university in the evening.

If you weren’t doing your present job, what would you like to be doing instead?

Be a volunteer teaching children in underdeveloped countries and trying to make a difference in the world.

Worst moment or period in your career?

COVID-19, definitely. The early days were bad, especially the month when our factory in Portugal had to shut down due to a sanitary siege in our location.

If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be? Have more women involved in our sector. Although I acknowledge that there has been a big change since I joined 22 years ago.

What is the best way to stay motivated and complete goals?

Even if you can’t accomplish your goals all the time, go home at the end of every day with a feeling of having done your best.

Your favourite ‘office product’?

My PC.

Perpétua Malta, Bi-silque

The BEAUTY of PRICING INTELLIGENCE

People relationships have always featured highly in the business products industry. Salespeople build strong personal bonds, know you, your colleagues and your business needs. They might even offer deeper pricing discounts when you purchase extra supplies.

But how do we know we are receiving the best price and value for money? What if the relationship is so strong that you don’t even realise your sales agent has actually been overpricing for the past five years?

In today’s e-commerce world, retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers in our space are becoming increasingly aware of how the shift online has created competitor pricing transparency and opportunity.

The online advantage of downloading catalogues, comparing products and hunting for the best price anywhere at any time has provided customers with infinite freedom.

ONLINE TRANSPARENCY

With hundreds of thousands of business supplies in the market, manually checking competitor pricing across a multitude of websites is impossible. This is why competitor pricing intelligence providers have created technology to collect pricing by product at a frequency that users require.

Having a dashboard sharing your price index compared with that of your competitors is having a window on the world’s market. You can dig into thousands of price points, showing how your products as well as whole category pricing compare with as many competitors as you need. And once you recognise their pricing patterns and trends, you will very likely be able to anticipate their next moves.

But it’s not just about looking at competitor pricing. The same intelligence enables you to confidently adjust your own online prices to optimally position pricing, gain sales and grow profitability. Just imagine having the intelligence to lower prices on whole categories when you’re overpriced to drive sales; or being in a position to raise prices and still be the most competitive in the market.

Think also how you could use that competitor pricing intelligence to negotiate better pricing with buyers and sellers

to optimise margins. Or consider the well-established relationships that could be damaged when it’s revealed a retailer or wholesaler has been consistently overcharging.

THE RISK OF NOT KNOWING

Failing to collect competitor price intelligence creates a host of potential pitfalls. Are we losing out on market share to competitors? Are we missing out by not offering products demanded by our customers but stocked by competitors? Are minimum advertised prices or manufacturers’ suggested retail prices being adhered to or are we seeing brands being compromised on price?

I would encourage you to think about the following: what key decisions are made using competitor pricing intelligence? Pricing data sits within three buckets – pricing, promotions and assortment – so the issues are:

• Do we increase/decrease prices?

• Can we align similar products?

• Basic ‘what-if’ modelling

• Promotional selection

• Assortment decisions

• Supplier negotiations/reduce cost prices

The next question is: how are pricing teams measured? Firstly, in terms of the percentage of products matched. Secondly, with the ‘difference-in-differences’ methodology to prove uplift validity. Incremental lift is calculated as a result of a specific pricing treatment.

When selecting a data provider, my advice would be to agree on a number of criteria, such as match rate percentage, data accuracy, competitor coverage, reputation, transition concerns and, obviously, cost of service. Then you’re set and next time you launch a new product range or investigate a dip in sales, open your competitor pricing intelligence dashboard and bingo!

Andrew Senior will be presenting at the next OPI European Forum in Amsterdam, to be held from 22-24 May 2023. For more details, visit www.opi.net/ ef2023

Andrew Senior, founder, Skuuudle

Once you recognise [your competitors’] pricing patterns and trends, you will very likely be able to anticipate their next moves

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